Drawing upon data collected as part of the development of a Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) for the West Midlands region of England, the current study presents an attempt to better understand the factors which may hinder or facilitate product innovation within small manufacturing firms. The focus is upon traditional and/or mature sectors rather than the high-technology small firms (HTSFs), or new technology-based firms (NTBFs), which feature disproportionately in academic and policy discussions. The study adopts a model of firm-level innovation which views innovation outputs as a function of, internal and external, resource inputs and enabling activities set within an institutional framework (broadly defined to encompass instituted behaviours). To this end, the study is influenced by Systems of Innovation (SI) approaches and is, in part, a critique of such approaches. More specifically, employing a sample of 228 small manufacturing firms (i.e. less than 250 full-time-equivalent employees), the thesis considers the relationship between 'innovativeness' and: firm strategy and structure; skills; finance; external linkages; and, performance. Empirical observations are set within a broader conceptual framework of learning, discovery and interaction. Moreover, given the context in which the data was collected, policy considerations loom large. In particular, the thesis considers the extent to which 'spatial' systems of innovation represent appropriate models for economic development, generally, and for the revitalisation of areas characterised by industrial decline and restructuring specifically.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the Duhok region’s innovation strategy and to be able to see how regional development and the entrepreneurial development tackle the innovation and innovation strategy in everyday life. Theory: The starting point for the theoretical framework for this study is the concept of innovation – what is it and why is it valuable to an organization? But the focus of the study is to compare the Sörmland region innovation strategy with the Duhok region innovation strategy, if Duhok has an innovation strategy. The theoretical description that follows in this chapter is based mainly on secondary data in the form of scientific papers and books in the areas mentioned above. Great emphasis has been placed on the source-critical criteria mentioned in chapter two in both the selection and review. Method: This second chapter provides a detailed description of the approach used in the study. Selection of the research approach and perspective on the interpretation and analysis, and it will give the reader an understanding of the study process. Empirical Result: In the empirical chapter, the researcher has transcribed the interviews and made it clear they were interviewed response and summarized the text out of them replies received from persons interviewed. Analysis: The researcher will analyze what he thinks is the most important for the research. The analysis chapter is an important chapter because of the result and the discussion. Discussion: In this chapter there would be discussion about regional innovation for Duhok region. In the Discussion chapter the researcher talks about implementation of innovation strategy with help from a model called The Strategy Planning (TSP) model. The creation of TSP and further researcher are also included in discussion chapter.

Cette thèse examine la généalogie du concept d’utilisateur et sa mise en scène contemporaine dans la recherche et développement industriel. De nombreuses recherches du champ des sciences et techniques, du design et de la stratégie ont mis en évidence ces 40 dernières années le rôle clé de l’utilisateur dans le processus d’innovation. Le laboratoire de recherche Bell Labs sert de terrain d’analyse car il permet d’observer sur une période de 88 années les raisons institutionnelles, économiques et socio-techniques qui ont établi l’utilisateur comme un artefact à même de répondre aux enjeux industriels de formalisation des conditions de réceptions et d’usages dans le but de les intégrer aux objets en développement dans le domaine des télécommunications. Ancré au confluent des approches sémiotique (C. S. Peirce), symbolique (L. Sfez), et de la théorie de l’acteur-réseau (B. Latour), nous analysons les différents termes du système représentatif de l’utilisateur et sa symbolique aux Bell Labs : la diffusion du concept dans le journal scientifique de Bell Labs à partir d’une analyse statistique, les différents types de figures de l’utilisateur présents dans ce journal avec une analyse de discours, et le processus de prise en compte de l’utilisateur par l’analyse socio-technique d’un projet d’innovation. Pour ce travail, nous avons développé une méthodologie permettant le suivi et l’analyse de l’émergence et de la diffusion des concepts d’innovation. In fine, nous défendons que les Bell Labs, au travers des représentations de l’utilisateur, ont progressivement établi une équivalence entre l’homme et la machine qui porte l’utilisateur au rang d’image symbolique mi-homme mi-machine. / In this thesis we examine the genealogy of the concept of user and its contemporary dramaturgy in industrial research. For forty years, the literature in sciences and technology studies, in design and in strategy have been revealing the importance of users in the innovation process. This thesis is the result of a doctoral research that aims at exploring further this issue by studying the institutional, economical and socio-technical reasons that settle the user as an artefact in the research laboratory of Bell Labs. Our theorical frameword combine both semiotic (Charles S. Peirce) and symbolic (Lucien Sfez) aproaches, and the theory of actor-network (Bruno Latour). We focus on the terms of the representational system of the user and its symbolic implications in Bell Laboratories : the diffusion of the concept in the scientific journal of Bell Labs through a statistical analysis, the different types of user-model in Bell Labs history through a speech analysis, and the process of user integration through the socio-technical analysis of an innovation project. For this research, we developed a methodology designed at tracking and analyzing the birth and propagation of concepts in innovation. Finally we defend that Bell Labs, through its user-models, have established an equivalence between human and machine that make the user a symbolic picture half human, half-machine.

This thesis explores the experience of the historical and contemporary commercial manager, its rise and fall as an expert occupation and its rise again as potentially a new organisational profession in the project-led organisation. Despite their importance in such organisations, commercial managers often report not seeing their work as a site for innovation and being viewed as being impediments to the experience of other functions in cross-functional teams. Their main association, the IACCM, intends to improve the status of commercial managers through 'professionalisation'. However, historically, the commercial manager was of considerable status, in the firms of the late Industrial Revolution. They have been lost to the principal histories of British management, until now. How was the status of the occupation lost? This thesis considers the historical structuring of the occupation through analysis and interpretation of historical employment archives and the novel use of historical actor's own situations wanted advertising to reconstruct the experience of the historical commercial manager.The lived experience of contemporary commercial managers was investigated using Critical Incident Technique and phenomenological content analysis of first-person accounts of commercial managers successfully and unsuccessfully attempting to innovate within their routine work. The conflicts and scarcities of their position are key elements amongst the antecedents of insight that lead to commercial innovation. This thesis responds to Rickard's (2003) call for more realistic research into innovation and practical models of the actual practices of innovating people. Past and present are unified by an analysis of trait and ideological theories of professionalism. Through development of a framework for assessing progress in professional mobility projects, conditions for the fall of historical commercial managers are theorised and the status of modern commercial managers is analysed. Several key debates are also considered, such the rate of vertical integration in British firms.The limitation of the study in both its historical and contemporary parts is the availability of data and interpretive approach taken to it. Although the method by which data types were elicited and analysed is clear and repeatable, there is a limitation in the degree to which the data is representative, in terms of the degree of participation of commercial managers and the physical limits of the archive; interpretation can only be carried out on the data that actually survives. Further work is proposed and recommendations are made for supporting the professional mobility of modern commercial managers. Once again, commercial managers find themselves as a response to the concerns of capital and enterprise, yet will their putative institution be able to create the kind of collective mobility that was impossible for their historical forebears?

Innovation strategy has been playing an important role on innovation development in industrial firms. Extant studies have investigated in particular open innovation strategy.  By using a qualitative case study, I have conducted a research in an Indonesian R&D firm that has implemented an open innovation strategy. The purpose of this research is to add more information and confirm existing knowledge by exploring challenges and opportunities during the implementation of an open innovation strategy. I identify many challenges which are found in several aspects of innovation development such as collaboration management, assets protection and accessing external knowledge. Furthermore, the opportunities that I found are related with enhancement of license strategy, nurture of employee’s loyalty and establishment of various collaboration forms. These challenges and opportunities occurred due to the influence of the openness paradigm. The results of this study also confirm previous research result on the adoption of the partly open innovation scheme and the layered collaboration scheme. RQ: what are the firm-level challenges and opportunities with using an open innovation strategy?

<p>This research links the relationship among entrepreneurial traits, business strategies and the success of the firm. Such relationship presents that the person who stands behind the success of SME is entrepreneur. Entrepreneur plays an important role in SME as a key player to control the direction of the SME. Also, the business strategies used by the entrepreneur can build competitive advantage for the firm. This research focuses on network and innovation strategies as the main strategies and presents the entrepreneurial characters that are important for utilizing these two strategies effectively. Network strategy will be efficiently used by the person who possesses the extraversion trait with social and team characters while innovation strategy will be efficiently used by the person who possesses the openness to experience trait with creativity and advantage characters.</p>

This research links the relationship among entrepreneurial traits, business strategies and the success of the firm. Such relationship presents that the person who stands behind the success of SME is entrepreneur. Entrepreneur plays an important role in SME as a key player to control the direction of the SME. Also, the business strategies used by the entrepreneur can build competitive advantage for the firm. This research focuses on network and innovation strategies as the main strategies and presents the entrepreneurial characters that are important for utilizing these two strategies effectively. Network strategy will be efficiently used by the person who possesses the extraversion trait with social and team characters while innovation strategy will be efficiently used by the person who possesses the openness to experience trait with creativity and advantage characters.

Background: In technology based industries, firms which originate from advanced economies have traditionally occupied the leading position. In order to keep that position, they relied on strong efforts devoted to research and development, striving for being at the cutting edge of technology. During the last decade, we observed that some change happened amongst the top ranking of firms within the telecommunication industry with the apparition of Huawei, which originates from China, an emerging economy, in second position. Aim: This research is aimed to investigate the influence of firm’s human resource and market demand on firm’s innovation strategy. Definitions: Human resource represents the employees working for a company. In our study, when we mention human resource we deal with employees working in research and development. Market demand refers to the products which are demanded on a specific market. For our research we divided it in three categories: less advanced, advanced and most advanced products. Innovation strategy deals with the way a firm organizes its research and development in order to innovate according to either, in our research, new-tofirm or new-to-world innovation strategy. Completion and results: This study revealed that Huawei managed to adjust its innovation strategy in accordance with its human resources and market demand. Thanks to an efficient and adapted innovation strategy, Huawei now manages to perform better than its main competitor Ericsson, not only on developing or emerging markets, but also in advanced markets. We also observed the role of rules and regulations and cooperation, without which Huawei would not have been able to lead an efficient new-to-firm strategy. We created a model which is designed to give a better understanding of the situation and illustrate the interrelation between human resource, market demand, innovation strategy and performance.

With rapid development of technology in industries and aggressive globalization competitiveness, business operation success from the past does not guarantee present and future success, and the competitive advantages of enterprises may vanish after time or environment differences. Promoting new products and process innovation have becoming the main strategies for enterprises, and they also become the key points of the existence of enterprises. Therefore, enterprises should intake technological innovation when formulating strategies, and concentrate on their core resources and capabilities. Through the integrations, the enterprises will be able to react and get the sustainable competitive advantages when changes from outside and inside the organizations occurred. This research is using the Resource-Based View as foundation, and the high technology manufacturers and enterprises in Taiwan as our research objects. Exploring the characteristics of enterprise inner resources, capabilities and the impacts on creating sustainable competitive advantages through the interactions and effects when enterprises engage planning their technological innovation strategies. The obtained data is adapted by Pearson correlation analysis and regression analysis. The research result is hopefully to be able to provide with the high technology manufacturers and enterprises in promoting the competitive advantages in business operation and decision application. The result of this research is that, the technological innovation strategy is indeed affected by core resources and capabilities. The different core resource contents and characteristics have remarkable effects on enterprises technological innovation strategies. This research result is corresponding with resource-strategy paradigm by the Resource-Based School. Technological innovation strategy has outstanding impact on the sustainable competitive advantages. Different types of technological innovation strategies have effects on innovation performances, which shows the importance of applying technological innovation strategy to enhance the competitive advantages. However, the core resource contents and characteristics do not show the direct impact on the sustainable competitive advantages. The core resources and capabilities of enterprises will have contribution to the sustainable competitive advantages by strategy formulation and implementation.

Background: The banking industry is today evolving in a mature market, with a strong competition. Banks’ situation is forcing them to constantly innovate in order to keep their customers and to stay attractive for prospects. This environment is particularly true in Sweden. Purpose: All long this research the authors have explored the way Swedish banks are innovating today. Comparing their practices to customers’ opinions on how they would like their banks to implement innovations, the authors mainly focused on innovation strategies for banks in order to satisfy their customers. Method: First of all the authors have made a literature review in order to explore previous researches conducted on innovation strategies and customers satisfaction. This has firstly been used in order to make hypotheses, then in order to build the interviews guides for banks as well as the quantitative questionnaire for customers. Then, a comparison has been made between customers’ opinions and banks’ practices, all of this combined with the theoretical part in order to draw conclusions on the topic. Results and conclusions: Results of this research have shown a difference of point of view from both parts. This difference is not very strong, but could be at the origin of innovation success for Swedish banks understanding it